PRESS DIGEST - British business - Nov 10

The Times

ACCENTURE LOSES RULING IN BATTLE WITH BRITISH GAS

Accenture (ACN.N), the management consultancy, has lost an initial ruling in its High Court battle with British Gas (BG.L) over an IT system the utilities firm claims reduced its billing system to a shambles. According to British Gas, Project Jupiter, the 2006 IT project, led to hundreds of thousands of customers leaving the company at a cost of 220 million pounds ($369 million). British Gas said it was pleased with the judgment, but Accenture said it plans to appeal.

RIVALS ARGUE 'OUR NETWORK IS BIGGER THAN YOUR NETWORK'

Mobile phone network operator 3 is taking Orange (FTE.PA) to the Advertising Standards Authority over Orange's claim in an advertisement that it had Britain's largest 3G network. Orange's ad campaign, which cost four million pounds, suggested that its network covered 93 percent of the population. It said that 3's network only covered 91 percent. However, 3 believes that its coverage is more extensive and that Orange's claim could be refuted if coverage were measured in a different way. The dispute comes despite both companies planning to collaborate on a network-sharing agreement with T-Mobile next year.

NEED TO KNOW: LOK'N'STORE

Storage company Lok'n'Store cited "consistently encouraging" trading this year, while reporting annual pre-tax losses of 656,000 pounds in the year to July 31. The figure represented a -12 per cent improvement on last year. The value of the firm's property grew to 78.4 million pounds from 76.8 million pounds at the start of January. Lok'n'Store, whose performance is largely dependent on the housing market said that demand for storage had picked up.

The Daily Telegraph

GUARDIAN AND OBSERVER PUBLISHER TO UNVEIL FATE OF TITLES

Guardian Media Group is set to announce further job losses, as part of a wider cost-cutting programme at its Guardian and Observer newspapers. Both publications are facing mounting losses and Observer staff will be addressed on Tuesday by editor John Mullholland. Cost cutting measures are expected to include further integration of the papers' editorial staff and the closing of some sections. GMG's newspaper division -- Guardian News and Media -- posted an operating loss of 36.8 million pounds in the year to March 29.

BOSWELL TO JOIN 'GOVERNMENT RAIL'